Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 377: To ask the Minister for Defence the total amount of moneys owed to private firms by public bodies under the remit of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46474/10]

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Payment of invoices by the Department, including public bodies under the remit of the Department, is governed by the Prompt Payment of Accounts Act 1997 and the European Communities (Late Payment in Commercial Transactions) Regulations 2002. The legislation provides for the payment of interest on valid invoices that are unpaid after 30 days from their date of receipt. In June 2009, the Government introduced a further non-statutory requirement to reduce the payment period by central Departments to 15 days. In the quarter ending September 2010 over 94% of valid invoices were paid by the Department of Defence within the 15 day timeframe and over 98% were paid within 30 days. This includes invoices for public bodies under the remit of the Department. At any given time there are recently received invoices on hand which are generally processed within a few days of receipt. The number of invoices on hand at present for public bodies under the remit of the Department is approximately 20, amounting to some €23,000. These invoices will be processed for payment within the next 5 days.